Braunschweig sets an example for e-mobility

So much has happened since the first project with inductively charged PRIMOVE e-buses started operation in Braunschweig in March 2014. The initially introduced 12 m e-bus was complemented by four 18 m articulated buses, again the first of their kind. Today, these are carrying passengers on Braunschweig’s busy inner city ring line 419 all day long. In order to have enough energy for the whole day, the electric vehicles can easily ‘refuel’ wirelessly at one of their regular stops along the route equipped with an inductive charging station. Under the name emil (standing for ‘Elektromobilität mittels induktiver Ladung‘, meaning e-mobilty via inductive charing) the PRIMOVE e-buses are well-known throughout the region by now and have become a vital part of the city’s daily mobility.

This has led to the first of the four PRIMOVE buses now reaching a major milestone: 100,000 km of passenger service. The other three 18 m e-buses will also reach this mark shortly. A remarkable number that impressively shows the vehicles’ reliability in daily passenger service. Just this year, each PRIMOVE bus will probably having been driven 50,000 km. The plans of Andreas Glaser, Head of the Bus Department at Braunschweiger Verkehrs-GmbH, the local transport authority, go even further for the year to come: “I think the articulated e-buses driving 60,000 km in 2018 is quite realistic. This equals the distance our traditional diesel buses cover on the same line.” Hence the PRIMOVE e-buses have proven that they can easily keep up with classical diesel buses. And by the way, they are also good for the environment: Braunschweig has already been able to save more than 540 t of CO2 by switching to the e-buses.

The electric buses, equipped with the invisible wireless PRIMOVE charging system as well as the PRIMOVE high-power battery system, have repeatedly been successfully put to the test before. This April, for example, one of the e-buses has been on the track for 41 hours non-stop. The short scheduled ‘re-fuelling stops’ at the stations were sufficient to supply the bus with enough energy to cover 470 km. The bar is set high, and we can’t wait for what 2018 has in store when it comes to e-mobility.